Sufism / Islam

The boundary between Islam and the mystical tradition of Sufism is notoriously hard to draw, and Sufism itself is nearly impossible to define—as any scholar of it will tell you. So we’ve decided not to worry about it, but simply to share some of its more wonderful expressions: its teachings, its philosophy, its music, and especially its sublime and thrilling poetry.

Revised Edition

Music, according to Sufi teaching, is really a small expression of the overwhelming and perfect harmony of the whole universe—and that is the secret of its amazing power to move us. The Indian Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882–1927), the… Read More

Counsels of Hadrat 'Ali

Living and Dying with Grace is a book of aphoristic Sufi teachings on how to make one's way in the world—especially on how to bring spiritual insight to the affairs of daily life. Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam,… Read More

The Diary of a Traditional Solitary Sufi Retreat

This is a woman's firsthand account of a Sufi halvet, a forty-day retreat conducted in complete isolation, along with strict fasting from sunrise to sundown. Voluntarily confined to a sparsely furnished room amid the bustle of Istanbul, Michaela Özelsel will… Read More

A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance Containing 365 Selections from the Wisdom of Rumi

Jalaluddin Rumi has become one of the most widely read poets in our time. This collection of verse is drawn from Rumi's masterwork the Mathnawi, often referred to as the Qur'an in the Persian tongue. The Mathnawi comprises six volumes… Read More